UFC 66 Results
The most notable thing about UFC 66 as a PPV was the fact that the fights were so short. Most fights were over in the first round. It was really only the Ortiz vs Liddell fight that went a bit further although that fight almost ended in the first round. I have to admit, I was somewhat impressed by Chuck Liddell. Chuck is heralded as one of the best punchers of all time and while this is definitely a distinct strength in Chuck’s game, it isn’t really what keeps him champion. It is Chuck’s reach advantage combined with his odd stance angles but most notably it is his ability to sprawl, rejecting take downs. While Ortiz may have lost the fight, he did end up proving himself. Ortiz stood toe to toe with Liddell and took many of Chuck’s haymakers and stayed on his feet for almost 3 full rounds. Chuck’s glove did clip Ortiz eyebrow in the first round causing a cut, otherwise, Ortiz stood and took the barrage of punches. Ortiz had stated that he planned to fight “an Ortiz fight” but this is not what happened. The difficulty is that in order to fight his own fight, Ortiz needed to take down Liddell which involves getting closer to Liddell causing vulnerability to Chuck’s heavy hands. This is simply not a good combination. After watching the fight, I don’t know if I’ve seen anyone fight that can contend for Liddell’s belt. Ortiz was as healthy as he could be for this bout and still came up short in the sense that he did not win back the belt. I still felt a sense of pride on behalf of Ortiz. He was gracious in his defeat and at 31 years old (6 years younger than Liddell), he will be around for a while longer.
Also on the card was Chris Leben from the Ultimate Fighter Season 1 fame vs Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald hailing from Edmonton, Alberta. Jason MacDonald took advantage of an odd angled choke causing Leben to attempt to tap before passing out.
Crowd favorite Forrest Griffin suffered a devastating defeat in the first round. Forrest was basically knocked out on his feet in the first round. Griffin collapsed in emotional agony after realizing his loss. Forrest, who is described as one of the hardest working guys in the UFC, will most certainly be back.
A reminder to anyone who views UFC fighters as one dimensional brawlers was given a clear reminder of the efforts given to this sport by these dedicated competitors. Losing is tough in any sport but with the UFC everyone has a punchers chance at winning and training hard can definitely get you physically prepared for a fight but once you are in the octagon, anything can happen and the result can be devastatingly disproportionate compared to the hard work, sacrifices and injuries. There is no other sport that offers such instant elation in the course of a fight and such vulnerability to sudden devastation. This is one of the reasons why the UFC is one of the most exciting sports around.